India sets 2013/14 cane price at 210 rupees per 100 kg-govt source

NEW DELHI, Jan 31 (Reuters) - India has fixed the price
sugar mills must pay to cane growers at 210 rupees per 100 kg in
the 2013/14 year, a government source said on Thursday.

India, the world's top sugar consumer and the biggest
producer behind Brazil, asked mills to pay at least 170 rupees
per 100 kg in the current year to Sept. 30.

Though the federal government revises the cane floor price
every year, some state governments invariably raise the rate to
woo farmers, a large political constituency.

Sugar mills are expected to produce between 23.5 million
tonnes and 24 million tonnes in 2012/13, Food Minister K.V.
Thomas said on Wednesday, marginally lower than the industry's
forecast of 24.3 million tonnes.

India has turned into a net importer of sugar for the first
time in two years despite surplus stocks at home as global
prices have slumped, prompting millers to demand an increase in
the import tax to curb cheaper overseas supplies.
(Reporting by Nigam Prusty; editing by Malini Menon)